Brick by tiny brick, Legoland rises

With the news that Central Florida's Legoland started selling tickets online in advance of the October 2011 opening day, it was interesting to read this story by our colleague Mark Albright on the work being done to build a $200 million theme park, spread over 150 acres that once were Cypress Gardens in Polk County.

Legoland Florida is slated to debut in October 2011. The Danish toy giant and its majority-owned British partner Merlin Entertainments Group also plan a water park, hotels and possibly other attractions to come later.

It's aimed at the 2-12 year old age range with a midget motorway where kids as young as 3 are awarded a personal driver's license, a build-your-own Lego robot lab, and a wide variety of tame rides they call "pink-knuckle" rides instead of white-knuckle screamers. Of course, everything will be built from off-the-shelf Lego bricks — or look as if it is. And there will be scattered stores stocked with toys and videos from the vast Lego and Duplo arsenal. Anything left will be found in what's called the Big Store — the size of a small supermarket — at the exit gate.

There are some savings if you want to get a jump on tickets. Until Dec. 31, buyers can get a $10 discount on the daily $75 admission for adults, $65 for kids 3 through 12 and seniors 60 and up. There's also a $30 discount for the $129 adult annual pass, but not the $99 pass for kids.

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